Business · Companies · 2 hrs ago
Firmus’s failed ASX listing could slow its data centre expansion
Firmus, an AI data centre company led by Oliver Curtis, failed to list on the Australian Securities Exchange last week.
The planned listing was valued at nearly $44 billion and was expected to raise $US5 billion.
Firmus has two data centres operating, but its expansion depends on agreements to buy Nvidia chips and sell computing power to OpenAI and Meta.
Those agreements have not been made public and include conditions, while the chips and infrastructure needed are costly.
The failed listing means Firmus has less money for its plans, which could make its growth smaller or slower.
The company still has debt financing from Blackstone and a Meta commitment to buy computing power from a planned data centre in Indonesia.
Firmus plans to seek more money from existing investors and may try to list overseas.
Firmus’s attempt to list on the ASX collapsed last week, leaving the company without the planned $US5 billion in proceeds.
The failed float could mean fewer AI chips and a smaller or slower data centre expansion.
Chief executive Oliver Curtis said the collapse made no difference to the business, but the article says the lost funding matters.
Firmus has two data centres operating and billions in debt financing from Blackstone.
The company plans to seek more money from existing investors and may pursue an overseas listing.
- Who
- Firmus, led by chief executive Oliver Curtis.
- What
- Its planned ASX listing collapsed, removing the prospect of raising $US5 billion for its expansion.
- When
- The collapse happened the week before October 12, 2026.
- Where
- The failed listing was on the Australian Securities Exchange; Curtis spoke in Singapore.
- Why
- The article says the company needed the money to buy AI chips and fund data centre infrastructure.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
What happened over the last 48 hours makes no difference to my business
great loss for Australia
I think what has really hurt this, as much as anything else, is the level of schadenfreude that is spreading across the business community at [Curtis] having failed
There’s this bubble of arrogance that surrounds [Curtis]
Firmus’s attempt to list on the ASX collapsed.
Oliver Curtis spoke to a reporter in Singapore about the failed listing.
SMH published an article about the collapse and its implications for Firmus.
- Planned ASX raise
- $US5 billion ($7.1 billion)
- Operating data centres
- 2
- Debt financing
- Billions from Blackstone
- Planned data centre
- Indonesia; Meta has guaranteed to buy computing power from it
- Expansion funding
- Firmus plans to seek more money from existing investors and may list overseas
Sources
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